Module ECON44315: Labour Economics

Department: Economics and Finance

ECON44315: Labour Economics

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To develop advanced knowledge and analytical skills in the theory and practice of labour economics.

Content

• The module includes the economics of the labour market, such as wage formation, unemployment and policies. Topics will be drawn primarily from the following:
• Wage formation
• Unions and bargaining
• Efficiency wages
• Search theory
• Labour market policies and taxation
• Labour mobility
• Employment over the business cycle
• Human capital formation and returns to education

Learning Outcomes

• be able to interpret scholarly literature at the frontier of research in labour economics;
• have explored, understood and appreciated the complexity and contradictions of the current academic literature and its implications for professional practice, and be able to identify open questions for their own research in labour economics.

• be able to apply advanced problem-solving and analytical skills to complex issues in labour economics;
• be able to offer policy recommendations for the labour market both at local, national and international level, informed by the knowledge and analytical skills acquired in the module.

• Written Communication;
• Planning, Organising and Time Management;
• Problem Solving and Analysis;
• Using Initiative;
• Numeracy;
• Computer Literacy.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures will present the topics in detail, give suggestions for further reading, give guidance for the problems for the seminars, and give students the necessary knowledge to read and understand the relevant scholarly literature.
• In the seminars students will be encouraged to actively participate and solve problems. The seminars will train the students to solve analytical problems in theory of labour economics, critically discuss its applications as well as giving students the opportunity to identify research questions.
• The topics and techniques covered in the module lend themselves to multiple forms of assessment. This makes it possible to develop and test appropriately different subject specific knowledge and skills and key skills.
• The written assignment, in the form of a project, will allow students to focus in depth on a specific topic. It will test in particular their ability to apply advanced problem-solving and analytical skills, and their written communication, organisational and planning skills.
• The written examination will primarily test students' knowledge and critical understanding of the material covered in the module in addition to their analytical and problem-solving skills.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Students will receive written comments on a formative written assignment. Additional formative assessment and feedback may take a number of forms such as oral feedback on work prepared by students for seminars; answers to questions either discussed during a seminar, or posted on DUO.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University